My wise, law-abiding, productive, independent-minded, self-reliant folks told me a long time ago: Many times, the only difference between a cop and a criminal is the uniform.
At least 10 years later, I was arrested by a cop who tore his own uniform and blamed it on me in order to get sympathy from the judge. The judge must have already known this guy was a bad apple, because he didn't buy it and knew that my perplexed surprise at the question, "When did you tear his uniform?" was genuine.
Bad cops are WORSE than criminals. I think that these cops need to go to jail at the very least. Frankly, I find myself hoping somebody shoots the bastards.
No. I’m, simply, saying that from my perspective, (not being a cop-hater), it makes no sense for cops to “murder” someone, in front of scores of witnesses; many of whom, presumably, have cell-phones with cameras. Truth is important to me. Wild speculation is not.
An armed civilian usually fears his own weapon because he knows what it is capable of so he carries it with the utmost care and caution. An arrogant cop incorrectly thinks he has mastered his weapon, so he wields it carelessly. Sadly, most cops exhibit this trait.
My hometown has one such memorial on the city hall lawn. On it are the names of two cops who died back in the 20's when the black people they were beating for becoming too "uppity" tried to exercise a little self defense.
It seems like some people in this thread conveniently missed some witness accounts. I wonder why that is...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/man-did-not-pull-gun-on-police-at-costco—lawyer-says-98279344.html
Pair corroborate elements of official account of man’s death
But the 72-year-old man, in addition to another witness reached Monday, said they did see the weapon and did see Scott reach for it.
Police have said that Scott drew a pistol and pointed it at officers after they ordered him to raise his hands and lie on the ground. Both witnesses gave their accounts to homicide investigators, they said.
The 72-year-old man heard police say, “Get on the ground. Get on the ground.” He saw Scott facing the officers, who were between Scott and the store entrance.
The man said he saw Scott reach with his right hand and pull out what appeared to be a gun in a zippered holster. He recognized the holster, he said, because he has one like it. Officers then fired, and the man saw the gun fall out of Scott’s hand. The witness did not see Scott point the gun at officers.
“I feel sorry for the guy, but he just made a dumb move,” the 72-year-old man said.
The second witness, who also spoke on the condition that his name not be used, was standing near the entrance when he said he heard police shout, “Get down on the ground. Get down now.”
He turned to see why police were yelling, he said, and saw Scott reaching for what appeared to be a pistol in his waistband. The witness said he recognized the butt of the gun and immediately turned toward his wife and covered her as they dove to the ground.
“He was definitely reaching for the gun,” the man said.
The witness turned away before he could see whether Scott fully removed the weapon from his waistband and didn’t see the shooting. He said it did not appear that Scott was trying to “quick-draw” the weapon on the officers.
He heard gunshots soon after. The witness said he has been struggling with how the incident unfolded.
“It’s so totally bizarre to me” that the man would grab the weapon in front of the officers, the witness said.
He added that he doesn’t believe the man deserved to die for his actions, as he has heard other people say. But he said he does believe the officers were justified in their response.